Finding God through the lens of an artist

This blog series is adapted from my panel at the 2018 Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. For those who were unable to make it, here’s what you missed!

Last week, we talked about 7 Markers of Adulthood that society uses to let us know when we’ve achieved the status of “Grown Up.” Today, we’re going to look at the first, Getting a Job!

Part of being a responsible, self-sufficient adult is the ability to provide for your own needs financially. We need food, clothing, and shelter, all of which require money to attain. No longer relying on someone else’s provision, the adult gets a job and works hard for the money they bring in.

There is biblical precedent for this. The first man to be filled with the Spirit, Bezalel (Ex. 31), was so filled so that he could get to work building the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle. Even though God was caring for His people’s physical needs with rock-water and sky-bread, God thought this work was so important that His Spirit dwelt within a man so it could be done.

The Book of Proverbs has more direct urgings to get a job: “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider his ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares he bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.” (Prov. 6:6-8).

What about the New Testament, I hear you crying out. Well, Paul is even more harsh: “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work,let him not eat.” (2 Thess. 3:10). Sounds like getting a job and looking after ourselves is pretty important.

Now, early Disney characters rarely bothered with the boring routine of getting jobs. When you’re a princess or prince, you don’t really need one. However, more recent films have dealt with people finding, keeping, and growing in their jobs. Let’s see what they say:

Pinocchio

Here we find the one early Disney protagonist who get’s a job. Which job? Show business!

In Pinocchio we learn that jobs are dangerous. If your boss is anything like Stromboli, he or she will likely try to screw you over, and its best to avoid getting a job altogether.

Now, Pinocchio is a child of sorts and we have laws against child labour for a reason. We don’t want the Strombolis of the world caging our kids and exploiting them for financial gain.

However, we can also pick up on the truth that when it comes to our job, the interpersonal aspects of the job may be just as important as the actual work itself. It may be more important to have a job we don’t particularly like, if our co-workers and supervisors make life more fulfilling.

Zootopia:

Judy Hopps has one dream: to become a police officer. However, the odds are stacked against her by the accident of her birth as a bunny.

But Judy believes nothing else will make her happy, so she gives it her all to make it through the police academy despite her natural limitations. It’s a wonderful reminder that perseverance in the face of opposition can lead us to grow and overcome the obstacles that are in our way.

And so, Judy Hopps becomes the first bunny police officer – and is quickly bounced down to metre maid. This wasn’t what she was expecting. But does Judy whine or quit? No, she buckles down and becomes the BEST meter maid in Zootopia, outperforming everyone’s expectations. From there, she earns enough of her boss’ trust to climb the police ladder and eventually become a hero.

Sometimes we have dreamy, romantic visions of what our jobs should be that don’t match our realities right away. That’s okay. Sometimes, we just need to put in the work. Paul instructs us in 1 Thess. 4:11-12 “to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” If we can follow in Judy’s footsteps, we can learn to work hard wherever we are, no matter our opposition and be the best we can be.

The Princess and the Frog:

Finally, we have young Tiana who has the aspiration of opening the restaurant that she and her father dreamed of owning one day. In order to do so, she works two jobs and saves every penny she can.

Sounds like the American Dream to me. Work hard, dream big. Wish on stars and put in the elbow grease.

But in The Princess and the Frog, we learn that this kind of work ethic creates people who don’t dance and who aren’t fun. We learn that work and fun are mutually exclusive. This isn’t necessarily true, and it’s not the best message for a youth just about to enter the workforce. We don’t need to give up on having fun just because we have a job. Actually, the financial freedom that a job brings can allow us to have even more fun than if we rely on the generosity of others.

But, eventually, Tiana works long and hard enough to make her dream come true.

There’s only one problem.

The free market strikes when someone outbids Tiana on the property she needs for the restaurant. We aren’t even told who ruins the dream, just that he or she has a lot more money than Tiana. So, we learn that sometimes working hard doesn’t get you what you want. Sometimes the lack of privilege bites you in the backside. A nugget of truth that we need to keep in mind when we set out into the workforce.

In all of this, we need to remember that God is sovereign. He may have a job in mind for you, or He may have a season of utter dependence on Him in mind. Remember, “the heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” (Prov. 16:9)

So, work hard, but allow God to lead you. Even if it’s outside your plan.